Lexis

I have been known to allow an arbitrary number of rolls for defense, without penalty. The rationale being that you are already penalized simply by getting many incoming attacks compared to the number of attacks you are able to make yourself. Statistically, you are already more likely to fail. This was also in a game where I tried to as far as possible give no bonuses or penalties except in really extraordinary circumstances; that saved me lots of effort for very little visible cost. I have also been known to give a flat penalty based on the number of opponents in position to attack; from even the first parry. The rationale for that was that you have to split your attention, even if the opponents miss or decide to delay. I didn't feel it added much to make up for the book-keeping. I have also tried to allow arbitrary number of un-penalized defense rolls, as long as you win them. This is a horrible death trap, which sometimes is fun but only in the right games. I also like the RAW, mostly because people seem to understand it easily. If you are in a position where you actually run out of parries due to this, you are very much in over your head

One option would be to use the original d100 roll. The [tens part of the skill] - [the tens dice] would give approximately the same results as d10 + [tens part of skill]. Then there is one less roll but slightly worse math. I haven't completely decided about failed attacks. Having fenced a bit, I am sort of attracted to the idea of a clumsy attack being really dangerous for the attacker. If I go that route I'd probably require a skill roll to exploit the mistake (and give bonus advantage for winning it). With multiple opponents it would then be a bit of a tradeoff; do I exploit my advantage or do I save my unmodified parry skill for the next attacker. A bit more expanded use of advantages, brainstorm: * 10: improve the result of a contest against the same opponent one step in your favor * 10: gain a temporary bonus of 10% against this opponent, picking this multiple times is cumulative up to a max of +30%. After this fight, the bonus is halved but persists until the opponent improves in skill. * 5: deny the opponent the opportunity to attack you this round, e.g. by tactical maneuvering or because the opponent is off balance or cautious. * 5: sidestep or feint, give the opponent a one time -20% to defend against the next attack. * 5 (if that leaves you with at least 10): make the attack a very close call. It still misses but in a suitably intimidating way. Perhaps a few hairs are cut from the opponents head, perhaps a piece of decoration is lost from the armor. It sends a message to intelligent self-preserving opponents and causes a lull in the fight against the opponent. The opponent is free to choose to attack again (NPCs might need a roll). * 5: maneuver well. Use this to keep the opponent between you and an enemy with a bow, or to give your friend with a throwing axe a better line of attack against this opponent. Laws of physics still apply, at least as far as they already did.

Hi, this is sort of a long and complex thing to post as a first message. I am eager to probe the minds of experienced BRP'ers though. I am planning to start a new fantasy campaign soon, soon after Magic World and some other things I just ordered from Chaosium reaches my mailbox. I am fairly familiar with BRP already so I expect to be able to start quickly. I have started thinking about some tweaks though. Here is one and I would appreciate your thoughts on it. I think it is annoying and a bit random when a fight between skilled opponents devolves into a series of ties until someone rolls a special success. The obvious fix would be to do highest-roll-under-skill wins, pendragon style, but my players dislike it for emotional reasons. Another obvious fix would be to let the best margin of success win, but that causes math of two or even three digit numbers which is quite annoying. So, I am planning to do this: Resolve attack and defense as usual. If there is a tie, it has the regular effects of a tie (no damage, etc) but either side might have gained a tactical advantage. Both parties of the fight roll 1d10 + skill/10. Rolling high is better. The one with the best result gets a tactical advantage of the difference between the rolls. This advantage can be accumulated during the fight. Once you have an advantage of 10 or more, you can spend 10 of this advantage to improve your degree of success one step at one time (failed to success, success to special and so on). This means that if someone with a skill of 120% ties three times in a row against someone with a skill of 80%, the more skilled person will on average have accumulated an advantage of 12 and will be able to boost the next result one step. I am also considering other uses for advantages, like gaining a temporary bonus against the same opponent for the duration of the fight, or even a semi-permanent bonus against the opponent until the opponent increases in skill. These would represent learning to exploit a weakness in the opponent's fighting style Obligatory boring example: Sneaking into a castle late one night Niall walks right into a guard patrolling the inner wall. Both draw their swords and prepare to fight. Niall has a skill of 123%, the guard has a skill of 71%. Niall lunges forward and stabs with his sword (success), the guard takes a step back and diverts the thrust with his own blade (success). A tie, Niall rolls 1d10 (4) + 12 = 16, the guard 1d10 (4) + 7 = 11. Niall gains an advantage of 5. The guard counters with a slash at Nialls face (success) but Niall ducks (success). Another tie, another roll. Niall: 1d10 (8) + 12 + previous advantage (5) = 25, the guard: 1d10 (6) + 7 = 13. Niall increases his advantage to 12. Niall steps forward and slashes at the guards side (success). The guard, a bit off balance, bring his sword up to block (success). Niall twists his sword viciously and manages to stab the guard past his parry. (Niall spends 10 of his advantage to gain a level of success). Thoughts?